are
working to identify the person or persons who crash landed a 1961
Beechcraft twin-engine airplane on grass at the closed Cornelia Fort
Airpark in East Nashville.

The
airpark has been out of operation for a number of months & is
presently under the control of the Metro Parks Department.

Large
yellow Xs are painted on the runway as a sign to aircraft that the
facility is closed.

A
Parks Department maintenance worker noticed the airplane in the grass
to the left of the runway Saturday morning.

When
it was still there today, the worker notified Parks Police officers.

The
landing gear mechanism on the airplane apparently became inoperable.

It
is believed the pilot(s) cut the engines before belly-landing the
plane in a large grassy area adjacent to the runway.

Markings
in the grass show that the plane traveled about 2/10th of
a mile before coming to a stop. The propellers & engines show
obvious damage.

The
plane is registered to Great American Transportation, Inc., which
lists its address as Cornelia Fort Airpark.

The
plane is believed to have been housed at the airpark in the past.

At
this point, it is unknown who or what was onboard the airplane. There
is no indication that anyone was seriously injured.

No
cargo or contraband was located when officers arrived today.

The
airplane was not in contact with the Nashville control tower, nor was
a flight plan filed.

It
likely arrived in the dark late Friday or early Saturday.

Officers
& the FAA will also be working to learn the plane’s
whereabouts over the past several weeks.”

A
2014 photo by Jonathan Westerling of an undated photo of Cornelia
Fort Airpark's terminal building, part of a Metrpolitan Nashville
Airport display by Jeff Cashdollar about the history of Cornelia Fort
Airpark.

A
2014 photo by Jonathan Westerling of an undated photo of Cornelia
Fort Airpark's runway, part of a Metrpolitan Nashville Airport
display by Jeff Cashdollar about the history of Cornelia Fort
Airpark.